Astral reports strong first quarter results for Fiscal 2013

-- 7% increase in net earnings(1)
-- 5% increase in diluted EPS(1)
-- 4% increase in EBITDA(2)
MONTREAL, Jan. 10, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Astral Media Inc. (TSX: ACM.A ACM.B)
today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended November 30,
2012, which saw continued growth in net earnings(1), EPS(1), EBITDA(2),
revenues and cashflow from operations(2).
In the first quarter, consolidated net earnings(1) rose 7% to $59.6million
from $55.8million for the same period last year, while diluted earnings per
share(1) increased by 5% to $1.05 from $1.00last year. EBITDA(2) grew 4% to
$93.7million from $90.4million last year, while consolidated revenues
totalled $274.5million, an increase of 1% over the $271.1million recorded
last year for the same period. Cash flow from operations at $69.2 million is
slightly above last year's figure of $69.0 million.
"I am very pleased with our Company's consolidated and segmented performance
in the first quarter of Fiscal 2013, marking the single largest quarter in the
Company's history" said Ian Greenberg, President and Chief Executive Officer.
"Our relentless focus on delivering better value to advertisers and consumers
combined with the discipline that defines Astral's decision-making approach
provide us with the optimal strategy to reach our objectives and continue to
deliver balanced growth across our diversified asset portfolio."
BELL-ASTRAL TRANSACTION(3)
On March 16, 2012, the Company announced that it entered into a definitive
agreement with BCE Inc. ("Bell") for the sale of its business through the
acquisition of all of its issued and outstanding shares. Following the October
18, 2012 decision of the CRTC to deny Bell's application to acquire the
control of the Company, the Company and Bell announced on November 19, 2012
that they have amended the arrangement agreement signed on March 16, 2012 and
submitted a new proposal to the CRTC for approval of Bell's acquisition of the
Company.
As a result of the amendments made to the terms of the arrangement agreement:
(i) the outside date for the closing of the transaction has been extended to
June 1, 2013, with each of the Company and Bell having a further right to
postpone it to July 31, 2013, (ii) Bell's regulatory covenants have been
modified, and (iii) the Company's Board of directors has declared a cash
dividend of $0.50 per share on its class A non-voting shares and class B
subordinate voting shares, payable on February 1, 2013 to shareholders of
record at the close of business on January 15, 2013. The consideration payable
to the Company's shareholders remains unchanged under the amended arrangement
agreement. The Bell-Astral Transaction is subject to closing conditions,
including regulatory approvals from the CRTC and the Competition Bureau. There
can be no assurance that the Bell-Astral Transaction will occur, or that it
will occur on the terms and conditions currently contemplated.
SEGMENTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Television
-- Revenue growth of 2%;
-- EBITDA(2) growth of 5%;
-- EBITDA margin(2) of 39.3%, up from 38.2% for the same period
last year.
Radio
-- Revenue growth of 1%;
-- EBITDA(2 )growth of 1%;
-- EBITDA margin(2) of 31.3%, consistent with last year;
-- Prior to the beginning of the first quarter, rebranding of two
stations in London and Winnipeg to the prestigious Virgin Radio
brand, bringing the total of Astral Virgin Radio stations to
seven;
-- On November 23, inauguration of Canada's largest private radio
broadcasting centre with five Astral French- and
English-language stations under the same roof in Montréal.
Out-of-Home
-- Revenue growth of 2%;
-- EBITDA(2) growth of 1%;
-- EBITDA margin(2) of 40.0%, consistent with last year;
-- In September, launch of a brand new network of 30 urban Digital
Columns in the heart of downtown Montréal;
-- Announcement of the addition of 6 new Digital faces by February
2013 on Toronto's Gardiner Expressway, bringing Astral's
popular national Digital Network to 49 faces.
Corporate
-- Over the course of the first quarter, the Company repaid $7.0
million of its long-term debt, bringing its Net Debt and
leverage ratio just below $356.0 million and 1.1 respectively;
-- Astral announced in November a cash dividend of $0.50 per share
on its class A non-voting shares and class B subordinate voting
shares, payable on February 1, 2013.
The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related
notes and Management's Discussion and Analysis are available on the Company's
website: astral.com.
There will be a conference call with analysts and media at 10:30 a.m. ET on
Thursday, January 10, 2013. To access the conference call dial 1-800-731-5319.
The conference call will also be broadcasted live and archived for a
three-month period on the Astral website at astral.com.
Astral is one of Canada's largest media companies. It operates several of the
country's most popular pay and specialty television, radio, out-of-home
advertising and digital media properties. Astral plays a central role in
community life across the country by offering diverse, rich and vibrant
programming that meets the tastes and needs of consumers and advertisers. To
learn more about Astral, visit astral.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning the
future performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are based
on current expectations. We caution that all forward-looking information is
inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from the
assumptions, estimates or expectations reflected or contained in the
forward-looking information, and that actual future performance will be
affected by a number of factors, including technological change, economic
conditions, regulatory change, competitive factors and changes in accounting
rules or standards, many of which are beyond the Company's control. We
disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements.
1. Excluding Bell-Astral transaction costs. See "Additional IFRS and
Non-IFRS Measures" in Appendix 1.
2. For more details, see "Additional IFRS and Non-IFRS Measures" in
Appendix 1.
3. For more details, see the "Bell-Astral Transaction" section in the
Management's Discussion and Analysis for the periods ended November 30,
2012 and 2011 and the press release issued by the Company on November
19, 2012.
ASTRAL MEDIA INC.
Interim Consolidated Statements of Earnings
for the three months ended
(in thousands of Canadian dollars except for per-share data)
(unaudited)
November 30
2012 2011
Revenues $ 274,465 $ 271,100
Operating expenses 180,811 180,699
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 6,931 7,506
Amortization of other intangible and non-current
assets 2,363 1,962
Financial expense, net 2,836 3,953
Bell-Astral Transaction costs 660 -
Earnings before income taxes 80,864 76,980
Income tax expense 21,759 21,224
Net earnings $ 59,105 $ 55,756
Earnings per share
- Basic $ 1.06 $ 1.01
- Diluted $ 1.04 $ 1.00
ASTRAL MEDIA INC.
Interim Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
for the three months ended
(in thousands of Canadian dollars)
(unaudited)
November 30
2012 2011
Net earnings $ 59,105 $ 55,756
Item that is never subsequently reclassified to
statements of earnings
Actuarial loss on employee future benefit
plans, net of income tax recovery of
$1.8 million and $2.4 million respectively (4,830) (6,772)
Item that may be subsequently reclassified to
statements of earnings
Change in fair value of derivatives designated
as cash flow hedges, net of
income tax expense (recovery) of ($0.2 million)
and $0.1 million respectively (663) 110
Other comprehensive loss (5,493) (6,662)
Comprehensive income $ 53,612 $ 49,094
ASTRAL MEDIA INC.
Interim Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
for the three months ended
(in thousands of Canadian dollars)
(unaudited)
November 30,
2012 2011
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net earnings $ 59,105 $ 55,756
Non-cash items:
Stock-based compensation costs 2,098 2,152
Depreciation and amortization 9,294 9,468
Imputed interest, net 288 259
Amortization of deferred financing costs 281 205
Deferred tax expense (recovery) (1,902) 1,122
Cash flows from operations 69,164 68,962
Net change in non-cash operating items (44,841) (45,111)
Cash provided by operating activities 24,323 23,851
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Additions to property, plant and equipment (9,708) (5,574)
Additions to other intangible and non-current (999) (952)
assets
Cash used for investing activities (10,707) (6,526)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Repayment of long-term debt (7,000) (10,000)
Deferred financing costs - (2,011)
Stock options exercised 1,702 3,110
Shares repurchased - (7,757)
Cash used for financing activities (5,298) (16,658)
Net change in cash 8,318 667
Cash - beginning of period 20,892 22,653
Cash - end of period $ 29,210 $ 23,320
ASTRAL MEDIA INC.
Interim Consolidated Balance Sheets as at
(in thousands of Canadian dollars)
(unaudited)
November 30, August 31,
2012 2012
ASSETS
Current
Cash $ 29,210 $ 20,892
Accounts receivable 193,823 174,384
Program and film rights 123,080 114,753
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 41,861 29,007
387,974 339,036
Program and film rights 52,588 51,208
Property, plant and equipment 209,824 210,035
Broadcast licences 1,631,307 1,631,307
Goodwill 118,489 118,489
Other intangible and non-current assets 63,178 64,750
Non-current financial assets 15,491 16,084
Deferred tax assets 40,530 34,582
$ 2,519,381 $ 2,465,491
LIABILITIES
Current
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 150,184 $ 141,729
Provisions 3,208 5,319
Income taxes payable 20,408 15,531
Program and film rights payable 74,744 63,619
248,544 226,198
Long-term debt 383,419 390,138
Deferred tax liabilities 133,422 131,377
Program and film rights payable 9,877 7,446
Provisions 6,305 6,717
Other non-current liabilities 80,935 76,556
Other non-current financial liabilities 9,351 8,466
871,853 846,898
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Capital stock 783,133 778,548
Contributed surplus 19,199 20,445
Retained earnings 845,729 819,470
Accumulated other comprehensive income
(loss) (533) 130
845,196 819,600
1,647,528 1,618,593
$ 2,519,381 $ 2,465,491
ASTRAL MEDIA INC.
Business Segments
for the three months ended November 30,
(in thousands of Canadian dollars)
(unaudited)
2012 2011
REVENUES
Television $ 155,827 $ 153,552
Radio 88,786 88,291
Out-of-Home 29,852 29,257
$ 274,465 $ 271,100
EBITDA((1))
Television $ 61,251 $ 58,608
Radio 27,773 27,591
Out-of-Home 11,935 11,835
Corporate (7,305) (7,633)
$ 93,654 $ 90,401
((1)) See Appendix 1.
ASTRAL MEDIA INC.
Appendix 1
Additional IFRS and Non-IFRS Measures
for the periods ended November 30, 2012 and 2011
(unaudited)
In addition to discussing earnings measures in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), this press release provides the
following additional IFRS and non-IFRS measures which are also factors used by
the Company's management and Board of Directors in monitoring and evaluating
the performance of the Company and its business segments:
Additional IFRS Measure
Cash flow from operations is defined as cash provided by operating activities
before the net change in non-cash operating items. This measure provides an
indication of the Company's ability to generate cash flows without considering
certain timing and other factors causing variations in non-cash operating
items.
Non-IFRS Measures
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is
provided to assist investors in determining the ability of the Company to
generate cash flow from operating activities and to cover financial charges.
Other items such as Bell-Astral Transaction costs are also excluded from
earnings in the determination of EBITDA as they are not considered to be in
the ordinary course of business. EBITDA is also an indicator widely used for
business valuation purposes. EBITDA margin is defined as the ratio obtained by
dividing EBITDA by revenues. The following table reconciles IFRS measures
disclosed in the unaudited interim consolidated statements of earnings for the
periods ended November 30, 2012 and 2011 to EBITDA:
November 30
(in thousands of $) 2012 2011
("Fiscal 2013") ("Fiscal 2012")
Earnings before income taxes 80,864 76,980
Depreciation and amortization 9,294 9,468
Financial expense, net 2,836 3,953
Bell-Astral Transaction costs 660 -
EBITDA 93,654 90,401
Net earnings and diluted earnings per share before Bell-Astral Transaction
costs. These measures provide an indication of the Company's ability to
generate earnings from its ongoing operations, by excluding some items such as
Bell-Astral Transaction costs as they are not considered to be in the ordinary
course of business.
The following tables reconcile IFRS measures disclosed in the unaudited
interim consolidated statements of earnings for the periods ended November 30
2012 and 2011 to net earnings and diluted earnings per share before
Bell-Astral Transaction costs:
November 30
(in thousands of $) 2012 2011
Net earnings 59,105 55,756
Bell-Astral Transaction costs, net of income taxes 484 -
Net earnings before Bell-Astral Transaction costs 59,589 55,756
November 30
(in dollars) 2012 2011
Diluted earnings per share 1.04 1.00
Bell-Astral Transaction costs, net of income taxes 0.01 -
Diluted earnings per share before Bell-Astral 1.05 1.00
Transaction costs
The above additional IFRS and non-IFRS measures do not have a standardized
meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures
presented by other companies.
Media:
Olivier Racette Advisor, Corporate Communications Astral Media Inc.
514-939-5000
Analysts:
Robert Fortier Vice-President, Finance andChief Financial Officer Astral
Media Inc. 514-939-5000
SOURCE: Astral Media Inc.
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2013/10/c4992.html
CO: Astral Media Inc.
ST: Quebec
NI: ENT TVNEWS RADIO ERN DIV CONF
-0- Jan/10/2013 12:55 GMT